“Four professors are warning that the ‘hegemony of meritocratic ideology’ and other manifestations of ‘masculine culture’ in engineering courses are detrimental to women.

“…

“The professors are especially concerned with how engineering courses tend to be ‘depoliticized’ compared to classes in other fields, which they contend is due in part to engineering culture’s emphasis on meritocracy and individualism.

“‘Socialization into the ideologies of meritocracy and individualism, coupled with a valorization of ‘technical’ prowess at the expense of “socially focused” work processes, depoliticizes the gendered structure of the profession,’ they write.

“The professors add that this can be problematic because ‘students learn that raising concerns about marginalization—of themselves or others—is tangential or even distracting to what counts as the “real” practical and objective work of engineering.’

“‘In its commitment to empirical science, technical thinking, merit, and individualism, engineering culture allocates what it sees as political issues, such as gender equality, to the realm of the social and subjective, therefore, off-limits,’ the paper asserts. ‘Thus, the depoliticized culture of engineering also constitutes a degendered space where issues that may be of social concern to women in science are also devalued and marginalized.'”

“Two academics at the Arizona State University authored an academic article arguing that students of women’s studies should ‘serve as symbolic “viruses”‘ in order to ‘infect, unsettle, and disrupt traditional and entrenched fields.’

“The article, published in Géneros: Multidisciplinary Journal on Gender Studies and titled ‘Women’s Studies as Virus: Institutional Feminism and the Projection of Danger,’ was authored by Arizona State University women’s studies professor Breanne Fahs and Arizona State graduate student Michael Karger.

“The paper ‘theorizes that one future pedagogical priority of women’s studies is to train students not only to master a body of knowledge but also to serve as symbolic “viruses” that infect, unsettle, and disrupt traditional and entrenched fields.'”

“‘People don’t like to campaign females because they don’t like to jeopardize their breeding program,’ said [professional handler and breeder Kimberly] Calvacca. ‘Males can be used to stud anytime, and still show and breed at the same time.’

“As a consequence, females are less likely to compete at Westminster, the second-oldest U.S. sporting event after the Kentucky Derby. Ahead of this year’s opening day on Monday, there were 1,220 female competitors and 1,699 male challengers enrolled in most categories, including vying to be named top dog on Tuesday at Madison Square Garden.

“A female competitor’s ‘heat’ cycle brings changes in temperament and hormones that can also hurt its chances of winning the world-renowned show for pure-bred canines.

“Many handlers and owners will not show a female during its cycle, which comes about every six months, because ‘they’re moody,’ said Wendy Kellerman, a handler and breeder from Hauppauge, New York.

“…

“In the end, a male Best in Show winner can bring a bigger payoff than a female because a male can breed many times, and even have its sperm frozen, while females can produce only so many litters and puppies, said WKC’s Bisher.”

Remember, though, Lassie was actually played by a male dog, which makes Lassie the first trans-gender star of television…